Brendan Rodgers lowers bar for Liverpool legend status

Place in the last 16 of the Champions League would write players into folklore of the club, suggests Rodgers.

There was a time when winning silverware was the absolute bare minimum required for a Liverpool player to write themselves into the club’s folklore. How times have changed. Now, it would appear, simply defeating a mid-ranking Swiss side to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, does the trick.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers says Tuesday’s must-win Champions League game against Basel is a chance for his players to write themselves into Liverpool folklore.

Rodgers’ side must beat the Swiss team at Anfield to seal second place in Group B and reach the knockout stage.

“It will be a great night and it is up to us to get the job done,” the Liverpool manager said.

“It is an opportunity for the players to qualify and make sure they write themselves into folklore.”

What the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and even the club’s current captain, Steven Gerrard, a winner back in 2005, make of the new criteria for folklore status, remains to be seen.

“We would have taken this when the draw was made,” continued Rodgers.

“In my time here we have had games that were deemed as must-win games and more times than not we have won them.”

Although, in truth, the only must-win match in Rodgers two-year spell in charge was last season’s Premier League showdown with Chelsea at Anfield. A win in that game and Liverpool would almost certainly have finished the season as champions. They lost 2-0.

“We arrive into tomorrow night with great confidence that we can get the job done,” said Rodgers, clearly boosted by Saturday’s 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland on Saturday.

“We are only focusing on the positive result. We see it as an opportunity rather than a threat to anything we are doing this season.”